With Woodley-Till fight on the horizon, Kamaru Usman eyes fight with Colby Covington

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is now set to defend his title at UFC 228 on September 8 in Dallas. He will not, however, defend it against current interim welterweight champion Colby Covington. Instead, he’s poised to defend his strap against surging British contender Darren Till.

The UFC announced this bout on Tuesday.

https://twitter.com/ufc/status/1021900819296210944

While this Woodley vs. Till fight should be a good one, it’s the manifestation of a very unfortunate turn of events for Colby Covington, who is expected to be stripped of his interim title the moment the UFC 228 welterweight title fight begins.

Tyron Woodley vs. Darren Till for welterweight title will headline UFC 228 on Sept. 8 in Dallas, per Dana White. Colby Covington has not been stripped of interim title yet, but he will be the moment Woodley vs. Till begins. Similar situation to UFC 223. https://t.co/Qw6ygV6DsV

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) July 24, 2018

The good news is that, while Covington’s shot at the undisputed welterweight title is going to have to wait, it seems he’s got another compelling fight on the horizon.

Shortly after this Woodley vs. Till fight was announced, surging UFC welterweight contender Kamaru Usman began calling for a fight with Covington. Despite his long-standing beef with Covington, Usman apparently considers Covington the true number-one contender, and even sympathizes with him.

This, per Ariel Helwani.

With Colby Covington getting passed up, Kamaru Usman wants to fight Covington next. According to Usman’s manager Ali Abdelaziz that’s the fight they are pushing for now. “We feel for Colby,” Abdelaziz said, “but he is the guy we need to fight. He is the true No. 1 contender.”

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) July 24, 2018

“With Colby Covington getting passed up, Kamaru Usman wants to fight Covington next,” Helwani said in a Tweet. “According to Usman’s manager Ali Abdelaziz that’s the fight they are pushing for now.”

Helwani also got a statement from Abdelaziz about this potential fight.

‘We feel for Colby,” Abdelaziz told Helwani. “But he is the guy we need to fight. He is the true No. 1 contender.”

Colby Covington last fought in June, when he defeated Rafael dos Anjos in the co-main event of UFC 225, capturing the UFC interim welterweight belt as a result. He’s 14-1 overall.

Usman, meanwhile, is 13-1 overall. He last fought in May, when he authored a lopsided decision defeat of former title challenger Demian Maia.

Does a fight between Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman interest you? Who do you think wins? Join the conversation in the comments section below!

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 7/23/2018.